Word on the streets of Auckland is that Conan O’Brien is coming to town. The New Zealand Herald reports that the former late-night host is bringing his Emmy-nominated travel series Conan O’Brien Must Go to the country in the coming days.
The paper reports that O’Brien is “expected in the country by Saturday when he will learn the Ka Mate haka with the assistance of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.”
A haka is a traditional Māori dance performed for ceremonial purposes. However, haka lessons are not uncharted territory for late-night hosts. In 2019, Stephen Colbert visited New Zealand, where he also learned the dance; he eventually aired footage from the trip in 2020.
But Conan is apparently aiming to be a bit more ambitious in his haka endeavors. The outlet reports that O’Brien is expected to take part in “a world-record haka attempt” on Sunday at Eden Park. The previously planned event will feature 10,000 New Zealanders performing the dance.
In Conan O’Brien Must Go, O’Brien draws from the classic remote travel segments of his late-night past as he makes surprise drop-ins on fans he has met through his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast.
The Herald goes on to say that O’Brien “will film other pieces for his travel series” while in the country. The specifics of what else he has planned for his visit have not been announced, but listeners of his podcast may recall his episode with a New Zealand fan released last year. In “The Gossip Girl of Thames New Zealand,” the host vowed to overhaul her town’s garbage pickup and build a town square with a Gilmore Girls-esque gazebo. (Naturally.)
Conan O’Brien Must Go released a four-episode first season earlier this year, which saw the host visit Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland. The episodes resulted in O’Brien taking part in some memorable collabs, including performing with a Norwegian rap duo and guest starring on an Irish soap opera.
Less than a month after its release, Max ordered a second season—and upped the order to six episodes.
“This latest travel show has been so fun and rewarding that I suspected it was all a cruel prank,” O’Brien said at the time. “My apologies in advance to the next six countries.”
Conan O’Brien Must Go is fresh off its win for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program at this month’s Creative Arts Emmys, where it was also nominated for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series Or Special (but lost out to My Next Guest With David Letterman And John Mulaney).
